Connell graduated from Edgewater High School, worked at the Publix in College Park and was an aspiring firefighter.

Blanco described shooter Omar Mateen during the rampage.

"He would just shoot and shoot and he wouldn't stop. The bullet cases would just fall and they would come and hit my arm. He would walk around, and then he started giggling and that kind of scared me even more," Blanco said.

Blanco’s teammates also survived.

Orange County Fire Rescue later named Connell an honorary firefighter.